Despite high levels of support, interim financing of climate-friendly heating systems is a problem. Banks would be willing to provide unbureaucratic financing – the KIM regulation prevents this; FMA and OeNB do not offer a solution.
The industry association proPellets Austria and the Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark are calling for the KIM regulation to be relaxed. Although subsidies for climate-friendly heating systems are available, interim financing is a major problem. According to the KIM regulation, banks are only allowed to approve loans if binding funding commitments have been made. However, these commitments are only made after the new heating systems have been installed.
proPellets Austria calls for adjustment of the KIM regulation
To ensure that everyone can implement the heat and energy transition, proPellets Austria is calling for a relaxation of the KIM regulation and is proposing three options:
- Subsidised renovation measures for a sustainable heating system should be excluded from the KIM Regulation,
- A non-binding funding commitment or the proven submission of an application for funding should be sufficient for simplified loan processing,
- Binding funding commitments are issued upon submission of the application.
“We are a reliable partner in the energy and climate transition,” says KR MMag. Martin Schaller, General Director of Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark“We are also prepared to finance the phase-out of oil and gas heating systems quickly and without red tape – but this requires the KIM regulation to be abolished or at least watered down.”
“The rapid phase-out of oil and natural gas is crucial for the success of the energy transition,” says Doris Stiksl, Managing Director of the industry association proPellets Austria. „Regulations that were made with the best of intentions can be changed again with a creative will for the benefit of people, the climate and the economyIt cannot be that banks are willing to finance investments in sustainable heating, but bureaucracy hinders progress.
Background:
KIM-VO as a hurdle: 25,000 euro interim financing overwhelms many households
The federal and state governments are demanding that oil or natural gas heating systems be replaced with up to 75 percent. Low-income individuals or households are eligible for 100 percent funding. The problem: the switch to a sustainable heating system must be pre-financed before the funding is paid out. According to the Credit Institutions Real Estate Financing Measures Ordinance (KIM), banks require a binding funding commitment for interim financing – but this is only received after the application has been submitted and the first invoice has been issued.
The KIM marginal income limits (50,000 euros or 100,000 euros for spouses or registered partners) to which the OeNB and FMA refer also exclude many people. Anyone who already has a real estate loan and has higher remaining amounts on their loan account also needs a binding funding commitment before the bank can provide interim financing for a heating system replacement.
Photos (reproduction free of charge)
KR MMag. Martin SchallerGeneral Director of Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark, ready for unbureaucratic financing
About proPellets Austria
The vision and goal of proPellets is the energy transition in heating. Pellets are intended to make a significant contribution to replacing fossil energy with renewable energy in Austria. proPellets connects and represents the Austrian pellet industry and serves as an interface and information platform for politicians, the media, as well as companies and customers who want to switch to renewable energy for heating.
